KINGDOM BUILDERS “BUILDING THE KINGDOM THROUGH THE WORD OF GOD” PIERCING THE VEIL HE MUST INCREASE, BUT I MUST DECREASE John the Baptist came baptizing in the River Jordan. Multitudes came to him for the life cleansing water for their souls. But, John was not the one who men should come after, nor did he ever proclaim himself to be the Messiah. He was only the one crying out in the wilderness, as written in Matthew 3:1-3 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Many enquired of John if he were the Messiah or not. Never at any time did he take that honor upon himself. He always spoke of the one who was to come after him. In fact, his preaching was on this wise, Matthew 3:11-12 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Continually, he spoke of Jesus being greater than him. This is much unlike the preachers of this day who take way too much upon themselves, walk into services with an entourage of armor bearers making their grand entrance so all can see and swoon at their presence, wear their costly jewels and customized suits so that all can see how prosperous they are, those who are spoken so highly of by their followers as if they were Christ himself, riding in their expensive automobiles, and borne about by their costly jets, who are unwilling to go preach unless they have five star hotel reservations with rooms for all their entourage, pay for their trip over and back, come at a set fee, and take up a large offering besides, and prepare for a special boarding for their animals, eat the finest food in the best restaurants, and have their own private masseuses after meetings. Why if John the Baptist showed up on the scene today, they scarcely would have a meeting for so few would come out to see some someone in camel’s hair eating locusts preaching repentance. So, if John came looking like a wild man out of the desert, why then did Jesus say, For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. (Luke 7:28). Jesus said about John in the book of Matthew that there was not a greater than he, meaning a greater man, and in Luke he said there was not a greater prophet than he. When we think of all the great Patriarchs prior to John such as Noah, Abraham, Moses, Samuel, David, Elijah, Elisha, Daniel, and all the Old Testament figures who are written in the Annals of Faith, one can hardly understand why Jesus said there was none greater among men than John. It then springs to my mind that the things John said and things that were written of him must be serious analogs from which we must draw wisdom and with which we must advance the Kingdom of Heaven. Having said that then, I recall to mind one of the first things John did say, John 3:30 “He must increase, but I must decrease.” The word increase means to cause to grow, augment, to increase, and to become greater while the word decrease is the opposite which means to become small, decrease, to become lesser. Since Jesus himself said that there was not a greater prophet than John the Baptist, then John’s words must have a great import on how one must live this Christian lifestyle. For as a prophet, his words speak as it were the oracles of God. He is God’s mouthpiece in the earth declaring by the anointing within him the hidden things of God, who by Gods authority and command in words of weight pleads the cause of God, and foretells certain future events. In the religious assemblies of the Christians, they were moved by the Holy Spirit to speak, had power to instruct, comfort, encourage, rebuke, convict, and stimulate their hearers. John’s words, “He must increase, but I must decrease” doesn’t mean we are to become smaller in stature. Oh, no! It doesn’t mean we should become small in other people’s eyes. Oh, no! It doesn’t mean we should become a monk living on a mountain top away from all humanity to commune with God. Oh, no! For Jesus said himself, “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. (John 17:15). In fact, Jesus also said, “As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.” (John 17:18). These are strange sayings to dispensationalists for this crowd is looking to be taken out of the world. How opposite are these words. Jesus is sending us into the world and the dispensationalists want to get out of this world. One is right, and I’m putting my faith in what our Lord said. So, If we are to stay in this world according to Christ, and we are to decrease according to John, can we make sense of all this? I believe so. The supreme heavenly mission here on earth is to advance the Kingdom of God right here, win every inhabitant to Christ that he may lose none, usher in righteousness throughout every nation, subdue and take dominion over all God’s creation as in the beginning, and see all inhabitants living a safe and godly lifestyle under their own fig tree in a type of Canaan Land bliss. Can you not see God’s original plan unfolding before your very eyes? What started Edenic bliss with the first Adam who was earthy and who failed will now be completed by the last Adam who ended the generational curses and on the cross for all men, and as the first man who came from heaven. We shall no longer bear the image of the earthy Adam, but now we shall bear the image of the Son of God who came from heaven. What an awesome plan! Now, we begin to get a little glimpse of what John meant by decreasing. If we put this in just a few words, we might say, “Adam must die”. This is the only way for this man of sin to be put under. We must no longer have our own will, and our on way as one crooner put it, “I will do it my way”. Submitting our will and way to him is the path to decreasing. In Gethsemane, Jesus, in the face of death, said, “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” (Luke 22:42). Even Christ totally submitted his will to the Father. So, John recognizing this old man Adam who was within all men knew, for John was a prophet, that this old man must die or decrease. He must no longer be self willed. He must no longer go his own way. The words Christ spoke to Peter after his resurrection were, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.” (John 21:18) Peter’s way or path of walking was to be no longer his own designed path. Peter had to die to self. Why, he was the one who said he would never betray the Lord, and that he would never desert the Lord. But, it was Peter, before the crucifixion, who denied his Savior three times. The old Adam still lived. A mans heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.(Proverbs 16:9). There are historical accounts of scripture that are clearly written as factual accounts of the lives of the patriarchs and the contenders of the faith. Clearly, we see that, but there are spiritual lessons to be learned from these great tales of triumph and tragedy throughout the old and new testaments. Two of those great leaders whom we have discussed here are John and Peter. At the end, after all his great preaching, prophesying, and declaring by great inspiration who the Lamb of God was who takes away the sin of the world, John dies a martyr’s death by beheading. Peter, who after beginning to preach to the Gentiles which was for sure in the eyes of the religious world non kosher, who exercised and became an inspiration of faith by walking on water, who escaped prison and the sword, and penned two of the great letters we all receive inspiration from daily, was crucified upside down on the cross at his behest that he not seem to take on the honor of the cross with Christ by being crucified right side up. The message here is that John and Peter both knew the old Adam that lived in them, and they knew that Adam must die. John and Peter both must decrease. Paul wrote, “For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. (Galatians 2:19-21). So, where are we headed? From the time we were born into this world as a little child with the sin nature of Adam, Christ has been at work. He has used godly parents, evil parents, triumphs, tragedies, prosperous days, days of poverty, good friends and those who persecute, hardships, deaths, sickness, health, abuse, and yes even life itself to cause us to see how utterly useless this “Old Adam” really is. Every trial we endure takes us through the refining fire of the Holy Ghost. Sanctification, we find is not just a doctrine, it is a lifestyle. (2 Corinthians 4:16) For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. What is persishing? The outward man, the carnal flesh, the old Adam. What is being renewed day by day? The inward man, the spirit of God within, the new man made after the order of the resurrected and ascended Christ. The old man is dying and the new man is living. (Colossians 3:10) And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him. We are headed somewhere and it is not up. (1 Corinthians 15:45-54) And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say , brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep , but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. And how is this great mystery accomplished? Why, John the Baptist had the secret. We must decrease and He must increase. The more we are fashioned like the Son of God, the less we and our old Adam become in us, and the more we are made into His image. The Sons of God are taking on his characteristics, walking in godliness and righteousness and holiness. The unveiling of these Sons is a glorious time in the world where they will be manifest to all. They look like the Son of God, they act like the Son of God, they talk like the Son of God, and they do exploits like the Son of God. What else can I say? They must be SONS OF GOD! Glory to the first born from the dead, the original Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ himself!
Posted on: Sun, 30 Mar 2014 21:58:07 +0000
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